Color offset issue with AVI -> DVD conversion

[cflorendo]

Hello,

I've got an avi on my hard drive downloaded from my DV camera.

I used VirtualDub to do some basic cleanup and editing, and saved to
an AVI using Cecocida DV codec.

I'm attempting to use freeware avi -> dvd conversions with mixed
results, but one thing is constant with the mpeg2 output: The video
comes out basically black and white, with the red and blue colors
grossly offset from where the should be. See included screenshot.
(Excuse the screenshot, I tried an alt-Print Screen window capture
of Media Player Classic, but it just comes out black ???)

The edited avi prior to mpeg2 conversion doesn't have this problem.
I've gotten this same result using FAVC (HC encoder) and DIKO (FreEnc encoder).
Is this a problem with the Cecocida DV codec or something else?
I'm stumped.

Thanks,
Colin

mpeg2_color_problem.bmp

[guns1inger]

Open the file in Media Player Classic and use Save Image As instead

[cflorendo]

Thanks for the tip on the Media Player snapshot. Here's a snap of my
problem video. You can see the red and blue and green colors offset and
distorted.

Any ideas welcome,

Colin

snapshot20060906203521.bmp

[JohnnyMalaria]

Well, the symptom is that the chroma part of the video is being decoded incorrectly.

If you look carefully, the patterns of color appear twice - once in each half of the screen. They should appear once and stretch across the whole frame.

This is often caused by a codec error and/or a problem with the next part of the chain not correctly interpreting how the codec encoded the video in the first place.

The root cause of the error can vary. Video encoded in the YUV color space (as opposed to traditional RGB) can be stored many ways.

Try the Panasonic DV codec instead of the Cedocida one.

In the meantime, I'll have a play with the Cedocida codec and see if I can help you track down the cause of the problem.

[JohnnyMalaria]

According to the Cedocida documentation:

*YV12 chroma sampling
The YV12 format is a planar YUV color format with 4:2:0 subsampling. The position of the chroma samples differs with the compression standard using it.
Using the first option (DV), the pixel data is directly feed to or from the the compression algorithm without color shift, interpolation or conversion.
For (MPEG 2 non interlaced) and (MPEG 2 non interlaced) the data is preprocessed or postprocessed in order to match the given color sampling positions.
Some remarks on "YV12 (DV)" input/output option in combination with NTSC video:
Because NTSC DV uses 4:1:1 subsampling type, you will see weird color when viewed with a normal YV12 program which assumes 4:2:0. This is no bug. If you need YV12 format for producing DVD content, use the option "YV12 (MPEG 2 *)".

That would explain it!

[cflorendo]

Thank you JohnnyMalaria!

So it looks like I should be able to configure the Cedocida codec in
VirtualDub with the YV12 (MPEG 2 *) option when saving the avi prior to
DVD conversion. I'll give it a shot!

Thanks again,
Colin